Farmers

ARTICLES ABOUT FARMERS BY DATE - PAGE 3

NEW DELHI: Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar today termed the land bill as a "win-win formula" for farmers. "... It will ensure a win-win formula for farmers...," he said on the sidelines of a book launch function at the Maharashtra Sadan here. Referring to the opposition faced by the government including from its allies to the Land Acquisition Bill, he said, "I think collective wisdom will prevail and things will get sorted out. " The land bill faces opposition over some of its provisions which include doing away with the consent of farmers for acquiring their land in the amended law and preventing the peasants even from moving the court against acquisition of their land.

HISAR: Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today lashed out at the BJP-led Central government for allegedly trying to revert back to the "exploitative" Land Acquisition Act, 1894 enacted by the Britishers, saying it will not be allowed at any cost. "The BJP led Central government is subtly trying to revert back to the Land Acquisition Act of 1894 of the British which was absolutely exploitative and had been enacted mainly to serve the colonial interests," the two-time former Chief Minister said here.

KHATIMA: Yoga guru Ramdev's aide Balkrishna today said here that NDA's bill to amend the Land Acquisition Act was against the interest of farmers and appealed the Centre to revise it. "Agricultural land is everyone's need as our life depends on it. The land acquisition bill brought in by the Centre goes against the interest of farmers. So the legislation should be redrafted and revised keeping in mind the interest of farmers and all sections of society," Balkrishna told reporters in Udham Singh Nagar district here.

NEW DELHI: Government today gave fresh signals of making changes in the controversial Land Bill to accommodate farmers' interest as yet another NDA constituent LJP joined others in expressing reservations over the provisions of the legislation. The opposition kept up its pressure by walking out of Lok Sabha while Congress hit the streets in Delhi opposing the land bill and threatened to take the protests across the country. After Shiv Sena, the LJSP headed by Ram Vilas Paswan which is part of Modi Government today voiced concerns over some of the provisions of the law and demanded more clarity from the Government.

NEW DELHI: The government today assured farmers that it would keep in mind their concerns while enacting the land acquisition law, a representative of the apex body of farmers claimed. A delegation comprising leaders of 15 farmer organisations met Home Minister Rajnath Singh to place their demands. "The Home Minister has assured us that the government will discuss farmers' concerns and it will be taken care of," Bharat Krishak Samaj Chairman Krishan Bir Chaudhary told reporters after the meeting.

NEW DELHI: The Opposition should debate and discuss the new Land Acquisition Bill as any issue raised in the interest of the farmers will not be ignored by the government, Union Minister Kalraj Mishra today said. "If they have objection to any point, there should be a debate on it. And I can confidently say that whatever is in the interest of the farmers, the government cannot ignore it and would be willing to incorporate it in the law," he said. Referring to the opposition parties, Mishra said that it was not the right attitude to only oppose.

CHANDIGARH: Questioning the "intriguing silence" of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal over the new land bill, Congress leader Amarinder Singh today said dilution of the pro-farmer Land Acquisition Act enacted by the previous UPA government in 2014, will not be allowed at any cost. "The BJP led NDA government, of which Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) is part and parcel, is subtly trying to revert back to the Land Acquisition Law of 1894 of the British which was absolutely exploitative and had been enacted mainly to serve the colonial interests," the former Punjab Chief Minister remarked, while warning, that it will not be allowed at any cost come what may. "Badal, who claims to be the sole representative and the guardian of the farmers' interests has resorted to intriguing silence on such a crucial matter concerning them (farmers)

LUCKNOW: Doling out a bouquet of sops, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today presented a Rs 3.02 lakh-crore budget for 2015-16. Yadav, who also holds the finance portfolio, said the budget was development and infrastructure-oriented, while the opposition parties dubbed it as "anti-farmer". The budget, Yadav's fourth, shows a deficit of 2.96 per cent and earmarks Rs 9,388.79 crore for new schemes. The budget size is 10.2 per cent more than last fiscal's. Yadav said the state's growth rate has been estimated at five per cent, higher than national figure of 4.7 per cent.

PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today described the controversial Land Acquisition bill introduced in Lok Sabha as a "black law" and demanded its immediate recall. "The Land Acquisition Bill is anti-farmer and pro-rich. it's a black law," Kumar said. "The Bill seems to have taken the heart out of the legislation prepared in 2013," Kumar, also a senior JD(U) leader, said. Kumar, who assumed charge as Bihar CM for the fourth time two days back, said "We will not implement the Land Bill in the state at any cost.

NEW DELHI: NDA constituent Shiv Sena, who is also part of the Modi government, tonight made it clear it will not support the land acquisition law in its present form. "There is no question of Shiv Sena supporting any law that goes against the interest of farmers," Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said in a statement. The statement came even as Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu held a meeting of various NDA constituents to seek their views on the land acquisition bill that will replace the ordinance issued in December.